Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly
June 30 - July 5, 2007 ... Philadelphia, PA
Three of our ATA members spent eight days this summer in Philadelphia as our delegates to the 2007 NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly.

Ann Buch, John Katzenmayer, Janet Joy
The National Education Association Representative Assembly (RA) is NEA's highest decision-making body. With over 9,000 delegates, it is also the world's largest democratic, deliberative body.

The RA is convened every July during the Annual Meeting. The first two days are devoted to discussions, conferences, and exhibits—but the highlight is the Representative Assembly itself. During this important event, delegates debate issues that impact American public education, elect top officers, and set policy for the 2.7 million-member Association.

History Comes Alive
NEA's 150th anniversary

On a summer afternoon in 1857, 43 educators gathered in Philadelphia, answering a national call to unite as one voice in the cause of public education. NEA's founding members sent the call for educators "ready to devote their energies and their means to advance the dignity, respectability and usefulness of their calling" to "gather into one great educational brotherhood."



Let Freedom Ring!

"Today we return to the city of Philadelphia, the place of our founding and the cradle of American liberty, to propose an education bill of rights on behalf of children and the United States of America."
  • The right to universal preschool and full-day kindergarten.
  • The right to small class sizes.
  • The right to well-trained and well-paid educators and professionals.
  • The right to engaging and challenging curriculums and quality textbooks.
  • The right to active participation by parents.
  • The right to adequate and equitable funding and other resources for our public schools.
  • The right to receive help for English language learners and students with special needs.
  • The right to a high school diploma or GED certificate, ensured by graduation requirements, thus reducing the dropout rate.
  • The right to equal educational opportunities to ensure that the children achievement gap is closed.
  • The right to have multiple measures used to determine student learning because no one ultrahigh-stakes test should determine the future of a child. No one ultrahigh-stakes test should determine the future of a child.
ATA Home